This might be the nicest Corolla anyone’s come across at CC. With the condition it’s in, I would be surprised if it were all original, but perhaps Passin’Gas, who uploaded it to the Cohort, can tell us more.

More sheltered from market trends and less self-consciously image conscious than, say, Southern California, The Deep South makes a good place for an old car to survive. Wherever it’s from and whatever its history, you have to hand it to whoever recognized this car’s value as a future collectible way back when owning a Corolla was a controversial act.

The “E20” model was now also available with the optional 1600 engine in addition to the little 1200. Equipped with the 1600, and weighing about 1800 lbs with 102 gross horsepower (probably about 75 net), a Corolla 1600 was good for an easy 90 mph at the top end, and was one of the first of its kind that was a viable proposition on US freeways.

Its small bumpers look clean and delicate, but the hubcaps, the grille, and the trim at the trailing edge of the rearmost window are a preview of the fussy styling details that Toyota continues to love today. I think the mini-Detroit look is very cute, but if I were 73 years old today (which I would be if I were my current age when this car was sold), I wonder how charming I would find it.

36 Comments

What is funny is this: As a midwestern car-crazy kid, I can vividly recall the first 71 LTD I saw, right down to the body style and color combo. I also remember Toyotas and Datsuns, but remember absolutely no details about them at all. You could show me this car and five others from its era and I would go “oh yeah, I think I remember those” but they were just kind of like background scenery to me.

Today, I would swoon over something like this. There is just something cool about Japanese cars from before the big-bumper era. This one is simply beautiful.

Same for me. If anyone feels up to it, a suggestion for a future CC series would be an overview of Toyota’s U.S. lineup over the years (the “CC era” years, anyway) similar to what we’re currently doing for the Colt.

So clean. So nice. Being in northeast Ohio, it’s probably been 25 years since I saw anything pre1980 Japanese on the road (other than some Z cars). Every trip I make to California always makes me SO jealous to know this kind of cool stuff still roams around

A girl I knew when I was in the Air Force had one of these. With the four speed manual it didn’t feel strained when accelerating and it would easily go 70-75 on the freeway. The thing I remember most was how light the car was; getting passed by a semi on the highway and you would think you were going to be sucked under the trailer.

The 1600 engine wasn’t available until ’72 or ’73 and came with 13″ wheels. My sister’s ’71 Corolla came with the 1200 engine and 12″ wheels. It was built like a watch, something I couldn’t say about most cars of that era. I think that she drove it for 12 or more years in the northeast. Yeah, it had rust by then, but nothing like a coeval Vega or Pinto.

I think it depended on the market. In Japan, the E20 Corolla launched with the 1200 (3K) engine and got the new 1400 (T) engine in September 1970, about five months later. The bigger 1600 (2T) pushrod engine didn’t go into the JDM Corolla/Sprinter until early 1973, but was available by late 1970 because it was also used in the Carina, Celica, and Corona. I believe it went into U.S. cars fairly late in the 1971 model year (i.e., in calendar year 1971).

My first recollection of Toyota was around 1970, when I worked part-time during college for a car importer at the Dundalk Marine Terminal outside of Baltimore. We drove the new imports (mostly VW Beetles) all over the terminal for inventory, inspection, undercoating, etc., before loading them onto tri-level rail cars. The cars were unloaded off regular commercial cargo ships one by one, with cranes lifiting them up from the holds then swinging them over the sides and setting them down on the dock.

One day I noticed a weird new ship in port. It looked like a huge ferry and had “Toyota” painted on its sides. Two huge ramps swung down and a thousand or so of these new fangled Japanese cars were driven directly off in a continuous stream. Dedicated Toyota personnel then handled all port services and transportation. Quite different from me and my motley collection of co-workers, who often enjoyed impersonating Joie Chitwood. What normally took 4 days was completed in 4 hours, without incident. I was impressed. At the time I had little idea of what a Toyota was, but thought this must be a smart car company. Little did I know …

I walk by this Clean Car several times a week, located in the historic home district of Marigny, the first “suburb” of the original French Quarter city of New Orleans.

This “survivor” appears to be all original and as clean and appealing as these pictures would indicate.

In 1972, at the age of 17, I purchased my first new car, a Ford Pinto. I thought I had chosen well, until I drove a friend’s Mother’s new Corolla. Suddenly my Pinto became “rude & crude” when compared to that slick, tight, close tolerance Toyota!

When a guy in our club brought his mother’s early-70’s 1600 sedan to an autocross because his Mazda RX-2 was getting yet another engine, that’s when we started calling them Corollovers. Man, that thing would lean in the corners!

Holy mackerel! This car in this exact color was what made me respect Toyota!

A buddy in the air force bought one of these identical to the photo in early 1971 shortly after he came to Beale AFB. This wagon REALLY impressed me, not only for the styling, but how well these ran, along with his parents’ blue Corona down in west Sacramento, 40 miles away.

Still, the cheapness of the interiors, especially the squishy sun visors, remained a burr in my saddle for a few more years, but I got over it.

Nevertheless, I loved, drove and enjoyed my magnificent Impala just the same.

Very nice example. My experience is almost the exact opposite as JPC’s. These Corollas played a big role in my life at the time. My “second mom” in Iowa City had one, and I drove it often. This is a 1200, as the 1600 didn’t come along until a year or two later and was optional. The 1200 ok, especially around town, but obviously not ideal for higher speed driving.

The 1600 turned it into a little rocket for the times, with about 100 hp in a very light car.

These were becoming quite common in university towns like Iowa City in the early 70s, as folks were really ready to move on from Beetles. The Corolla became the #2 selling import model in 1969, in only its second year on the market. That alone says a lot about its impact and success.

It was a better car than the Beetle in every way, except for the VW’s traction and off road capabilities, and ride over rough ground. The Corolla is what really nailed VW in the US.

Wow that Toyota is truly a survivor considering what NOLA has gone through over the past forty years and looks too good to have been a southern car its whole life. I assume the interior is somewhat trashed or repaired at least once due to the lack of tint; Hope this car has AC. I love the styling on this car with all its quirks. This Toyota is wearing a nice license plate, Louisiana always seems to pull off nice designs.

That Forester or any Subaru is a very rare car to find in the South unless you know where to look.

I was staying in the Bywater district of NOLA when I took these photos. According to the comment from Mark Reimer above, this car can more specifically be found in Marigny. I did find the neighborhood to be quite hipstery. Maybe a little downtrodden to quality as yuppie though. Then again, I lived in the SF Mission (the tony-hipster capital) so there’s a little bias there.

The Corollas and Coronas and Datsun 510s and 1200s were pretty common in Tucson in the early 70s when I was in college. They were mechanically sound, but the sun did a number on a lot of them–rotted vinyl upholstery, cracked and disintegrated dashboards, discolored plastic trim–in surprisingly short order. Paint suffered, too. But paint seemed a weak point all across the industry then. These days, even a ten-year old car can look nearly new, even fighting the sun here.

Kind of funny how everyone is getting creamy in their panties over this car but yet there are no other examples being posted as in true GM bashing CC fashion. Where’s the real POS pics at, in other words? Cause there aint any! Just goes to show that these cars were all pretty much use them, than throw them away cars just like every bottom feeder sold back them. Prove me wrong. PassinGas needs to get the real story of this polished turd. I’m kind of curious where this one was hiding for the last 25-30 years.

BTW When I lived in Orlando FL there were quite a few of these types of cars. Early Japanese economy coupes. Most if not all of them were brought in from PuertoRico to be hacked to death in the making of some type of drag racing abortion. Mazda Wankels and Toyota turbo 6 cylinder JZ….somethings were the powertrains of choice.

An interesting side note about the wagon is that in Japan, the early Corolla wagons were sold only with the smaller engines and very basic interior trim. They were considered vans (although they did have rear side windows) and sold as light commercial vehicles. The Japanese market apparently didn’t really get into passenger-grade wagons until the early ’80s.

When I was a young teen, my best friend’s mother had bought a ’71 Corolla and I found it to be significantly quieter and better built than my mom’s ’71 Datsun 1200. My first car was a new, bright yellow, ’74 Corolla 1600 with the “hemi-head” engine. I really love seeing these old Japanese cars!

Hi Perry, thanks for the write up! Lot’s of interesting facts I didn’t know about this Corolla. Indeed, I knew this was a rare specimen given its body style and condition. The car actually looked better in person than in the photos, the chrome really shines. There was however evidence of a respray, with some overspray on the rear rocker panel.

Wow, my first car was one of these. It belonged to a lonely old lady who lived by herself and kept a goat and some chickens. She would take the goat with her when she went out to the market. It took years to get the smell out of it. We called it the Toyota Corroded and eventually it would be brush painted Tremclad red.
It had plywood over the rusted floors in the back seat which we used as a garbage disposal while hooning around in it. By far the funniest thing that ever went down the hole was a box full of ping pong balls we found at a yard sale. KIds! As much as I would like to find another one of these 3dr wagons I’ll keep my long roof 510.